The present invention relates to a vehicle provided with an automatically engine-starting and stopping means for automatically stopping an engine, when predetermined engine-stopping conditions have been established, and for automatically starting the engine, when predetermined engine-starting conditions have been established.
A conventional vehicle using an engine as a traveling drive source suffers from the following problem: The engine once started is not stopped, unless a driver turns off an ignition switch. Therefore, for example, while the driver is waiting at traffic lights, a wasteful idling operation in the engine is continued to wastefully consume the fuel. To avoid this problem, every time the vehicle is stopped, the driver may turn off the ignition switch to stop the engine. In such a case, however, the driver must repeat the starting and stopping of the engine and hence, the operation is extremely troublesome.
Therefore, there is a conventionally proposed engine-starting and stopping system in a vehicle, which is designed so that when the vehicle is stopped, an engine is stopped automatically, and when a driver""s intent to start the vehicle has been detected in such state, a starter motor is operated automatically to start the engine, thereby providing a reduction in amount of fuel consumed (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 58-142378).
The conventional starter motor of the engine for the vehicle is operable to start the engine by bringing a ring gear provided around an outer periphery of a flywheel mounted in a transmission into meshed engagement with a pinion and hence, the conventional vehicle suffers from a problem that the size of the transmission is increased to ensure a space for mounting of the starter motor.
The present invention has been accomplished with the above circumstances in view, and it is an object of the present invention to lay out as compact as possible a starter motor and generator for automatically restating the engine after stopping of the engine.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an engine-starting and stopping system in a vehicle including an automatically engine-starting and stopping means for automatically stopping an engine, when predetermined engine-stopping conditions have been established, and for automatically starting the engine, when predetermined engine-starting conditions have been established, characterized in that the engine-starting and stopping system is comprised of a starter motor and generator for starting the engine, the starter motor and generator being accommodated within a pulley mounted on a crankshaft of the engine.
With the above arrangement, the starter motor and generator for automatically starting the engine which has been stopped is accommodated within the pulley mounted on the crankshaft of the engine. Therefore, it is possible to suppress, to the minimum, the increase in size of the engine or the transmission due to the mounting of the starter motor and generator.
In addition to the above arrangement, there is provided an engine-starting and stopping system in a vehicle, wherein the starter motor and generator includes a coil forming a stator, and a permanent magnet forming a rotor, the permanent magnet being mounted on an inner peripheral surface of the pulley which is formed into a hollow shape to cover one side surface and an outer peripheral surface of the coil, so that the permanent magnet is opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the coil.
With the above arrangement, the permanent magnet is mounted on the inner peripheral surface of the pulley which is formed into a hollow shape to cover one side surface and an outer peripheral surface of the coil, so that the permanent magnet is opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the coil. Therefore, the starter motor and generator can be accommodated compactly within the pulley without provision of special spaces for mounting them in the engine and the transmission.